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There were 1,488 new cases of the coronavirus in Utah in the past day, the most since Feb. 2.
And the rolling seven-day average of new cases — the figure public health officials watch to monitor trends — hit 1,004, the highest that number has been since Feb. 11.
A dozen more Utahns died of COVID-19 — six on Monday, and six more on Tuesday. (The Utah Department of Health did not report deaths on Monday because of a technical issue.)
The case count is 245 higher than it was one week ago (1,243 on Aug. 11). It’s 3.7 times what it was a month ago (403 on July 18), and 3.5 times what it was three months ago (427 on May 18). Six months ago, there were 858 new cases (on Feb. 18); and a year ago, it was 364 (Aug. 18, 2020).
In the past four weeks, unvaccinated Utahns were 5.4 times more likely to die of COVID-19 than vaccinated people, according to a UDOH analysis. The unvaccinated were also 6.3 times more likely to be hospitalized, and 5.5 times more likely to test positive from the coronavirus.
An additional 4,598 Utahns were fully vaccinated in the past day, bringing the total to 1,531,881 — 46.8% of Utah’s total population.
According to UDOH, Utah has seen 7,548 “breakthrough” cases of COVID-19 — people who contracted the virus two weeks or more after being fully vaccinated. That’s about one in every 203 people who are fully vaccinated.
Of that number, 450 have been hospitalized, one in about every 3,404 fully vaccinated people. And there have been 32 deaths, one in about every 47,871 fully vaccinated people.
Vaccine doses administered in past day/total doses administered • 11,271 / 3,157,148.
Utahns fully vaccinated • 1,531,881.
Cases reported in past day • 1,488.
Deaths reported in past day • 12, over two days. (UDOH did not report any deaths Monday, because of a technical issue.)
There were five deaths in Salt Lake County: two men between the ages of 45 and 64, and a man and two women, each 65-84.
Two Box Elder County residents died: A man 65-84 and a woman 85-plus.
Two Davis County men also died: One 25-44, the other 65-84.
Other deaths were an Iron County woman 85-plus, an Emery County man 65-84, and a Weber County woman 65-84.
Tests reported in past day • 8,890 people were tested for the first time. A total of 15,758 people were tested.
Hospitalizations reported in the past day • 398. That’s 16 more than on Tuesday. Of those currently hospitalized, 155 are in intensive care, unchanged from Tuesday.
Percentage of positive tests • Under the state’s original method, the rate is 16.7%. That’s higher than the seven-day average of 13.6%.
The state’s new method counts all test results, including repeated tests of the same individual. Wednesday’s rate was 9.4%, slightly lower than the seven-day average of 9.7%
[Read more: Utah is changing how it measures the rate of positive COVID-19 tests. Here’s what that means.]
Totals to date • 449,259 cases; 2,549 deaths; 19,489 hospitalizations; 3,035,821 people tested.
The Park City Song Summit, a five-day gathering of concerts and conversations about music, will require everyone over age 12 — audience, performers and staff — to show proof of being vaccinated against COVID-19, event organizers announced Wednesday.
“Safety comes before our bottom line and before politics,” Ben Anderson, the event’s founder, said in a statement. “We want live music to continue and are mapping our logistics to ensure that it will, as safely as possible.”
The event’s programming will take place outside at Snow Park Amphitheater at Deer Valley — two main stages, two tents for lab conversations and one tent for songwriters-in-the-round. Capacity will be limited to 50%, or about 2,500 people per day. The event runs Sept. 8-12.
Among the event’s protocols: People have until next Wednesday, Aug. 25, to receive their shots, so they will be considered fully vaccinated when the summit starts; staff members will receive rapid antigen tests every other day during the event, and wear masks at all times; and masks will be required for everyone in indoor spaces (such as restrooms), and strongly recommended for outdoor areas.
The summit follows another Park City cultural event — the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, set to begin Jan. 20 — in requiring proof of vaccination for everyone attending.
This story is developing and will be updated.
